Colin Firth

British actor Colin Firth achieved international renown in 1995 with his arguably definitive screen portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice. " He beg...
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British actor Colin Firth is fronting an appeal to raise $2.4 million (£1.5 million) to help children with stammers. The star won an Oscar for his portrayal of King George VI, who struggled with a serious stutter, in The King's Speech, and now he is throwing his support behind Britain's Action For Stammering Children campaign, which aims to ensure every child with a stammer gets the professional help they need to overcome the speech disorder.
In a statement, Firth says, "The King's Speech taught me not only the cruelty of having a stammer but also the life-changing benefits specialist therapy can bring...
"I hope everyone will get behind this appeal, which will make a genuine difference to children up and down the country, all of whom deserve to speak freely and live their life (sic) to the full."
The campaign news emerges after bosses behind the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) announced cutbacks on the help available to kids with speech troubles, with some children now facing a year's wait to receive treatment from a speech therapist, compared to the previous waiting time of 18 weeks.

Erotic thriller Fifty Shades Of Grey has continued to titillate movie fans by adding another $23.2 million (£14.5 million) to its haul to retain the North American box office crown. The film adaptation of E. L. James' raunchy books, which stars Jamie Dornan as bondage-obsessed businessman Christian Grey, manages to maintain a stranglehold on the top of the charts, again beating Colin Firth's Kingsman: The Secret Service, which scores a $17.5 million (£10.9 million) take in its second weekend (20-22Feb15) on release.
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water also remains unchanged at three.
Kevin Costner's new Disney film McFarland, USA enters at four and high school comedy The DUFF is new at five.

Sir Elton John almost landed a tough guy role in Matthew Vaughn's new action movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, opposite Oscar winner Colin Firth. The director admits he wrote a cameo for the rocker and then abandoned the idea because he didn't think it would work in the film.
He tells ABC News Radio, "I was umming and ahhing 'cause it had a whole fun subplot about celebrities being kidnapped. And I had an idea of, who's the worst celebrity you'd want to have locked in a cell? And I came up with Elton John.
"(I thought about) having Elton John throwing these huge tantrums, and then I wanted to do an action scene of Elton John kicking the living daylights out of people.
"I just got uncomfortable with, 'How do you have celebrities playing themselves? Opposite famous actors playing another role?' The suspension of disbelief suddenly becomes harder to pull off."

"When I first met Matthew (Vaughn, director), there was no script, so I just had the comics. I'd never really read comics, even when I was a kid, and now I do. I've missed out, I've wasted 50 years!" British actor Colin Firth has been turned on to reading graphic novels after working on Kingsman: The Secret Service, which is adapted from the 2012 spy comics The Secret Service.

British actor Colin Firth had to undergo a "nightmare" six months of intense training to prepare for his first big action role in Kingsman: The Secret Service. The Oscar winner, 54, assumed director Matthew Vaughn would use stuntmen to pull off the elaborate fight scenes in the spy movie, but soon learned he would be put through his paces by a team of experts in order to get him in shape so he would look like a believable action man onscreen.
Firth, who is known for starring in dramas like The King's Speech, Bridget Jones's Diary and Pride and Prejudice, reveals he could barely complete a squat at the start of the training process and the rigorous sessions completely drained him.
He explains, "(Vaughn) cast me not because I was right for the role, but because I wasn't, really. If he was looking for the last person on Earth who would be expected to be lethal (it would be me), and I actually thought, 'That's interesting. I guess you get the best stunt guys in and double for me and I'll look great.'
"(He said), 'No, you're not going to be in your trailer while this is going on, this is going to be you. This is why I'm telling you a year ahead, so that we have a year for you to get from where you are, which is nowhere, to being an expert.' He said, 'You're going to hate me by the end of it', and sure enough, the first month was misery."
Firth continues, "The beginning was a nightmare; a feeling of intimidation and inadequacy. There were a team of 10 guys who could do this stuff in their sleep, trying just to get me to achieve a squat! But by the end of six months, if you persist, something's going to change, so I started to think, 'I've wasted the last 30 years!'."

Actor Colin Firth was proud of the injuries he received while filming upcoming action movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, because his bumps and bruises proved he had performed his own stunts on set. The Oscar winner wanted to show his friends and fellow actors that he was brave enough for a tough-guy role in the film, so every time he sustained an injury he documented it.
Firth tells U.K. TV host Lorraine Kelly, "We had loads (of injuries) but I was so proud of them, they are trophies and because there was always this doubt that anyone was going to believe that I was doing it... if anyone got a bruise, and certainly if I got a bruise, it was photographed.
"It wasn't, 'Get the nurse!' It was, 'Get the camera, show the bruise or the broken tooth'. So I think we were all absolutely delighted if we had something to show for it."

Hollywood actor Colin Firth has revealed BBC bosses forced him to cover up during his iconic Pride And Prejudice lake scene amid fears nudity was not appropriate for the family-friendly TV adaptation. The Oscar winner shot to sex symbol status as Mr. Darcy after he was seen emerging from a swim in tight, wet clothing in the 1995 mini-series based on Jane Austen's novel.
The screenwriter subsequently revealed he had intended for Firth to shoot the lake scene naked, and the actor has long been rumoured to have refused to strip off.
However, Firth has now revealed he was willing to shoot the scene, but BBC bosses put a stop to it.
He tells U.K. TV host Jonathan Ross, "I was meant to be wearing precisely nothing... (It was down to) the BBC and me being a bit prudish I suppose... I probably would have done it (though)... They had a problem because the writer had written that he (Darcy) takes all of his kit off and jumps in the pond and we all knew that that was going to be delicate for family viewing."

"Back at the time, I said that a third one should only happen if we were telling a story about having moved into a different generation when we were all beginning to deteriorate a little bit. I think we might be ready for that moment!" Colin Firth admits he's ready for a third Bridget Jones's Diary film.

Action man Hugh Jackman is set to reunite with his X-Men: First Class filmmaker Matthew Vaughn in a new biopic about bespectacled British Olympic ski jumper Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards. The X-Men star has reportedly been cast as Chuck Berghorn, a down-and-out American ski expert who helped to train Edwards for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
Acting newcomer Taron Egerton, who features in Vaughn's upcoming Colin Firth movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, will portray Edwards, according to TheWrap.com.
Filmmakers are also rumoured to be interested in casting Mr. Turner actor Timothy Spall as Edwards' father.
Vaughn will serve as the project's producer, while Dexter Fletcher will direct when shooting begins this spring (15).
Edwards became the first British sportsman to compete as a ski jumper at the Calgary Games, but finished in last place in both the events he entered.

America's sweetheart and everyone's favorie actress, Emma Stone received her first ever Oscar nomination! She's nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her edgier, more foul-mouthed role in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, which is a bit of a different role for the 26-year-old who stole our hearts at age 19. In honor of Emma's incredible year, we take a look back at the movies that made us love her more and more.
1. Superbad (2007)
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Her breakout role as the cool, gorgeous girl in the Judd Apatow-produced teen comedy set the stage for what we would come to think of Emma herself. Hilarious, beautiful, self-deprecating, and pretty much the person everyone wants to hang out with. It's because of her character that Jonah Hill is inspired to endure all of the challenges in this movie, and we can't say we blame him. Come on, who wouldn't?
2. The House Bunny (2008)
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Her role in the not-that-great-but-not-that-bad Anna Faris comedy as Natalie, an unfortunately styled nerdy sorority girl, was maybe a bit hard to believe at first (because she's flawless), but it was fun nonetheless. We would rewatch this movie any time just to watch Emma Stone as the virgin sacrifice at Zeta Alpha Zeta's Aztec party.
3. Zombieland (2009)
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Wichita is probably the last person you'd want to encounter during a zombie apocalypse...or so it seems. Once you get over her penchant for conning people and her habit of pointing shotguns at you, you'd realize just how lovely an addition she'd make to your zombie-fighting group. She'll even be there to do drugs with Bill Murray. That is a cool girl.
4. Easy A (2010)
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The movie that earned Stone her first Golden Globe nomination, Easy A, is easily her greatest role ever. As Olive Penderghast, Stone lies about losing her virginity, turns that lie into a business of sex-related lies, styles herself as a lingerie-clad Hester Prynne, and battles head-to-head with super conservative Marianne (Amanda Bynes). One of the most entertaining teen movies, this gets extra points for reimagining a book we hated in high school and making it awesome.
5. The Help (2011)
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Emma plays the lovable "Skeeter" whose relationship with two black maids during the Civil Rights era in Mississippi begins as the maids assist the aspiring journalist with her cleaning column, but soon intensifies as she chooses to write their stories instead. Though it's Octavia Spencer who steals the show here, Stone's role is still as incredible as we've come to expect.
6. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
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As a recent law school grad who first rejects and then falls in love with Ryan Gosling (lucky girl), Stone shined as bright as ever. Our favorite moment of the whole film is when she's Gosling's house, looking "R-rated sexy," and telling him that they're going to "bang" before self-consciously calling the super-hunk out for looking like he's Photoshopped.
7. Friends with Benefits (2011)
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Though only a small role, her turn as the girl dumping Justin Timberlake for missing "Your Body Is A Wonderland" at the John Mayer concert is not only totally understandable (because he kind of is "the Sheryl Crow of our generation," right?), but is completely awesome. Her departure from the conversation, entirely over this relationship and more concerned with the Mayer concert, is perfect.
8. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
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SHE'S GWEN STACY! Arguably the greatest, most adorable movie girlfriend ever in the history of movies. Going too far? We don't think so! She's Peter Parker's love interest and the daughter of the police captain (who sooo does not approve of his daughter dating the dangerous Spider-Man), and we love her for it. More importantly than anything that happens in the actual movie, though, is her real life romance with the real life Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield. We love them on and off the screen.
9. Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
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It should be clear that any movie starring Emma Stone AND Colin Firth is going to be adorable and charming, right? Okay, now that we've settled that... Emma plays a psychic who doesn't really care that Firth is trying to disprove her powers, yada yada yada, she falls in love with him. The most charming part of the movie is, of course, Emma, particularly in her 1920s Gatsby-esque style. To die for!
10. Birdman (2014)
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Is this the movie could land Emma her first Oscar?! Stone plays Michael Keaton's aggressive and brash fresh-out-0f-rehab daughter-turned-personal-assistant who seemingly doesn't give a hoot about anything. From her potty mouth to her pursuit of adrenaline highs, we were shocked and amazed at how terrific she was in this role.

Title

Co-Starred with Scarlett Johansson as painter Johannes Vermeer in "Girl with a Pearl Earring"

Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role ("The King’s Speech")

Nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Landed featured role as Kristin Scott Thomas' husband in Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient"

First starring role, playing the lead in Milos Forman's "Valmont"

Cast as Uma Thurman's fiancée in the romantic comedy "The Accidental Husband"

Cast as an aspiring artist in the British miniseries "Lost Empires" (aired on PBS in 1987)

Breakthrough role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's classic "Pride and Prejudice"

Joined the Richard Curtis ensemble, "Love Actually"

Cast as one of the potential fathers in the the film version of the ABBA-inspired musical "Mamma Mia!"

Played Wessex, the intended groom of Gwyneth Paltrow's Viola, in "Shakespeare in Love"

Voiced Scrooge's nephew in Robert Zemeckis' animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol

Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Starred as a college professor grappling with solitude after his longtime partner dies in Tom Ford's directorial debut "A Single Man"; earned Independent Spirit, Golden Globe, SAG and Oscar nominations for Best Actor

Earned critical acclaim for playing King George VI in "The King's Speech"

Co-starred with Kevin Bacon as a showbiz duo whose career was ended abruptly amid scandal in "Where the Truth Lies"

Offered a harrowing portrayal of real-life Scottish soldier Robert Lawrence who had been left paralyzed in "Tumbledown"

Family briefly moved to St Louis, MO when he was in his early teens

Received raves for his stage performance in the London premiere of "Three Days of Rain" by Richard Greenberg

Co-starred with Emma Thompson and Angela Lansbury in "Nanny McPhee"; scripted by Thompson

Reprised his role as Mark Darcy in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Summary

British actor Colin Firth achieved international renown in 1995 with his arguably definitive screen portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice. " He began his career in West End dramas and on the big screen in period, often literary adaptations, before a number of successful romantic comedies including "Bridget Jones' Diary" (2001) and broader historic dramas like "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" (2003) turned him into "the thinking woman's heartthrob." While the moniker stuck throughout his career, Firth continued to showcase untapped facets of his talent in independent films, family-friendly hits, and gutsy cable movies. With noted turns in "Love, Actually" (2003), "Nanny McPhee" (2006) and "Mamma Mia!" (2008), Firth displayed both serious acting chops and an easygoing screen presence that continually pleased audiences. But the actor took his career to a new level with "A Single Man" (2009) and "The King's Speech" (2010). The roles were tour-de-force performances that earned Firth several award nominations and wins and elevated his career to new heights.

Met during filming of "Valmont" (1989); Together from 1989-1994; No longer together

Education

Name

Barton Peveril College

Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School

The Drama Centre

Notes

The BBC miniseries "Pride & Prejudice" (1995) attracted 10 million viewers per week when it aired, far higher than the average British program.

"If you're under the spell of something, you can't cast a spell." – Firth on acting to the The New York Times, January 15, 1996

"I don't think a great many things are achieved by crudely exerting yourself upon them. Still, I'd love to do cartwheels and the fireworks and the pyrotechnics. I would love to dazzle. I just don't have a great capacity for it." – Firth in Harper's Bazaar, May 1996

"There is a part of me that does have to pay for not belonging, but I consider my upbringing to have been hugely enriching and I certainly wasn't a victim. People with a predisposition to act come from all sorts of different places, but I do think it sometimes helps to be a bit fractured in terms of your identity. Acting with honesty doesn't come out of nowhere. I do think sometimes you have to upset your own equilibrium a little bit." – Firth quoted in the Daily Telegraph, Feb. 26, 1999

"I think it's quite extraordinary that people cast me as if I'm Warren Beatty. Until I met my present wife, at the age of 35, you could name two girlfriends. Yet there's this extraordinary image of the man who goes off with his leading lady all the time, when any 35-year-old man who can claim to have had two past lovers is hardly a philanderer." – Firth on his perceived status as a Lothario to the Daily Telegraph, March 22, 2000

"I'm not in Michael Caine's position so I can't judge, but I agree there's a stark contrast between England and Los Angeles. Americans make no distinction between English actors; they can't tell the difference between Michael Caine and Prince Charles. We're all Prince Charles to them." – Firth quoted in London's Evening Standard, June 12, 2000

"Beyond that famous English reserve lies incredible loyalty, and I cherish the English capacity for friendship. Other places have more apparent accessibility, but after five years you've got no further than you did on the first exchange." – Firth to London's Evening Standard, June 12, 2000

"There's this other person called 'Mr. Darcy' who I have very little to do with. He's like a bizarre doppelganger that I've spawned who walks around doing things without me. I've not really allowed myself to get hung up about it. Life has gone on perfectly satisfactorily. It hasn't held me back. It dominates what gets written about me, but it doesn't affect me any closer than that." – Firth to the Daily Telegraph, April 3, 2001

"Acting messes with you. Whatever it is to seek that kind of attention is combined with the ability to play different characters – so there’s something fractured there. You take a person like that, subject them to all the vicissitudes of praise and attack and critique and you are going to wreak havoc with people who aren’t stable." – Firth to London's The Times, Sept. 20, 2007